Stoa Parliamentary Debate Rules  

Stoa  Parliamentary  Debate  Rules  2014-­‐15     ©  2014  Stoa        Rev  7/14          

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I. Statement of Purpose The purpose of Parliamentary Debate is to train students to employ advanced debate and speaking skills informed by an accumulation of general and specific knowledge on a broad range of topics. The goal is to prepare students to deal with real world advocacy and argumentation in a manner that exhibits maturity, wisdom, grace and poise, bringing glory to Our Lord Jesus Christ. II. Parliamentary Debate Team Eligibility Each debater must have reached age sixteen (16) by January 1st of the competition year, or have competed for two or more years in another debate format, or receive consent from her/his coach. A parliamentary debate team consists of two competitors. Teams compete within tournaments; i.e., a team may not switch partners within a single tournament. III. Resolutions

(1) A different resolution will be presented for each round. (2) The resolutions for each round may be about current affairs, history, culture, technology,

scenarios, moral dilemmas, philosophy, or other significant topics. (3) The resolutions will be general enough that a well-educated high school student can

debate them. (4) They may be phrased in literal or metaphorical language and deal with questions of fact,

value, or policy.

IV. Parliamentary Debate Teams and Objectives

(1) The Parliamentary debate round consists of two teams. a. The Government team is comprised of the Prime Minister and Member of

Government. b. The Opposition team is comprised of the Leader of Opposition and Member of

Opposition. (2) The Government team shall affirm the resolution by presenting and defending a sufficient

case for the resolution. (3) The Opposition team shall oppose the resolution and or the Government team’s case. (4) If, at the end of the debate, the judge believes that the Government team has supported

and successfully defended the resolution they should be declared the winner; otherwise the Opposition should be declared the winner.

V. Resolution Announcement and Preparation Time

(1) The resolution shall be announced at a specified time before each round. (2) The official start of preparation time shall be announced with the topic. (3) Once the resolution has been announced, each team will have fifteen (15) minutes to

prepare for the debate, plus additional time added for walking to the rooms. (4) Debaters are responsible for monitoring their preparation time and should arrive promptly

in their event room before the allotted preparation time has expired. (5) Competitors may prepare using whatever resources they have available during

preparation time, including electronic devices.

Stoa Parliamentary Debate Rules  

Stoa  Parliamentary  Debate  Rules  2014-­‐15     ©  2014  Stoa        Rev  7/14          

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VI. During the Debate

A. Speech Order: Speeches shall proceed in the following order with the indicated maximum speech times:

Prime Minister Constructive 7 minutes Leader of Opposition Constructive 7 minutes Member of Government Constructive 7 minutes Member of Opposition Constructive 7 minutes Leader of Opposition Rebuttal 5 minutes Prime Minister Rebuttal 5 minutes

B. Constructive and Rebuttal Speeches: (1) The Prime Minister shall state the resolution during the first speech. (2) Debaters may introduce new arguments during all constructive speeches. (3) Debaters may not introduce new arguments in rebuttal speeches except that the Prime

Minister’s rebuttal may introduce new arguments to refute arguments that were first raised in the Member of Opposition Constructive.

(4) Debaters may introduce new support for existing arguments in rebuttal speeches.

C. Use of Materials: (1) Debaters may refer to any information that is within the realm of knowledge of

educated and informed citizens. (2) Judges will disallow specific information only in the event that no reasonable person

could have access to the information. (3) The use of additional materials is allowed within the following parameters:

a. No materials may be brought into the debate round for a debate team’s use except those handwritten by the two debaters during preparation time, a printed copy of the resolution if provided by the tournament director, and a copy of the Stoa Parliamentary Rules.

b. During the debate, electronic devices may only be used for timing and flowing.

D. Points of Information: (1) An opponent may request a point of information—verbally, by rising, or by raising a

hand or other similar attention-grabber—at any time after the first minute and before the last minute of any constructive speech. All other points of information are out of order.

(2) No points of information will be allowed in rebuttals. (3) The debater holding the floor has the discretion to accept or refuse points of

information, and interact with the point as desired. (4) The speaking time of the debater with the floor continues during the point of

information exchange.

Stoa Parliamentary Debate Rules  

Stoa  Parliamentary  Debate  Rules  2014-­‐15     ©  2014  Stoa        Rev  7/14          

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E. Points of Order: A point of order is a serious charge and should not be raised for minor violations.

(1) How to Initiate: If at any time, a debater believes that his or her opponent has violated a rule, the debater shall verbally state “Point of Order” and any speech time in progress shall pause for the exchange. The debater shall state the rule violation, but may not argue for it.

(2) How to Respond: The other team must yield the floor if a speech is in progress and must make very brief response, which may: a. Agree that something is out of order b. Not agree that there is anything out of order c. Provide a brief response as to why or why not

(3) How to Facilitate as Judge: a. After the exchange the judge may respond. b. Some amount of judge discretion is needed. c. When there is more than one judge, the head judge shall facilitate and each judge

may state or decline to state their judgment, but without argument. d. An example of each of the three types of responses are below:

i. Point Well Taken / I Agree / That was Out of Order ii. Point Not Well Taken / I Disagree / That was In Order

iii. Point Under Consideration / I am Not Sure / I’ll have to Think About it (4) The speaking time of the debater with the floor stops during the Point of Order

exchange.

F. Indicators of Agreement and Disagreement: (1) Judges as well as observers may participate (i.e., with gestures or audible

acknowledgement). (2) Agreement/disagreement indicators must neither interrupt the speaker nor cause undue

distraction to the judge. (3) The judge shall exercise personal discretion and may ask audience members to limit or

stop their signs of support or disapproval, and to leave if they do not comply.